Week 11 - background

Question 1

What does psychopharmacology study?

Answer 1

Concerned with drug-induced modifications of nervous system function and behaviour.

Question 2

What are the different types of drugs?

Answer 2

Therapeutic and Recreational (some drugs can be both)

Question 3

What are some therapeutic drugs?

Answer 3

Neuroleptics (sz)
Antidespressants
Anxiolytics (anxiety)

Question 4

What are some recreational drugs?

Answer 4

Alcohol
Nicotine
Caffeine

Question 5

What drugs are both therapeutic and recreational?

Answer 5

Cannabis
LSD
Cocaine
Amphetamine

Question 6

What is drug action?

Answer 6

What happens in the CNS. What is happening at the synapse, this is the point of action for these drugs.

Question 7

What is meant by drug effects?

Answer 7

More widespread effects of taking the drug e.g. increase temp, pupil dilation.

Question 8

What is pharmacokinetics?

Answer 8

The absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of a drug

Question 9

What are determinants of drug action?

Answer 9

• Administration/ Absorption
• Distribution
• Metabolism
• Elimination

Question 10

What is meant by administration/ absorption?

Answer 10

The way the drug enters the body and reaches the bloodstream

Question 11

What is meant by distribution?

Answer 11

Where drug goes when it has been absorbed.

Question 12

What is meant by metabolism?

Answer 12

How the drug is changed by the body (e.g. in the liver)

Question 13

What is meant by elimination?

Answer 13

The route which it leaves the body.

Question 14

What are some routes of administration?

Answer 14

Injection 
Inhalation 
Transdermal (patches on skin) 
Oral 
Rectal

Question 15

What administration routes will get drug to blood stream quickly?

Answer 15

Injection will reach bloodstream quickly and high levels whereas if smoked the effect is lessened and it peaks quickly but not as high plasma levels

Question 16

What factors could affect absorption?

Answer 16

co-ingested food (whether eaten before or not)
Rate of drug release from capsule/tablet.
Blood brain barrier
Placental barrier (considered when drug may affect the foetus)

Question 17

What are the time dependent changes in plasma concentration?

Answer 17

A - Suprathreshold (potentially toxic doage)
B- therapeutic dose
C- subthreshold (therapeutically ineffective)

Question 18

Why do we need to know dose response?

Answer 18

Important to know when when drug becomes dangerous and also to know when to stop increasing dosage to know when best effect and side effects worse

Question 19

What does dose response depend on

Answer 19

• Minimum effective dose
• Lethal dose
• Therapeutic Index

Question 20

What is the minimum effective dose?

Answer 20

The minimum dose which has the desired effect on 50% of the population.

Question 21

What is the lethal dose?

Answer 21

The dosage which is lethal to 50% of subjects

Question 22

What the therapeutic index?

Answer 22

Which is the LD-50/MD-50 ration and should be high (at least 10). The lethal dose should be much higher than the effective/ recommended dose.

Question 23

What factors influence drug effects?

Answer 23

• Individual differences (psychological condition when administered/ metabolism, weight, neurochemistry, hormones)
• History of drug use (tolerance and sensitisation)

Question 24

What is tolerance?

Answer 24

Diminished response to administration of drug after repeated exposure to that drug (O’Brien, 2001)

Question 25

What is sensitisation?

Answer 25

Drug effects increase with repeated administration.

Question 26

What is drug half life?

Answer 26

• Biological half-life is the time required for the body to eliminate 50% of the drug which the body contained.
• Drugs with long half-lives will be eliminated more slowly than those with short half-lives.

Question 27

What is an agonist?

Answer 27

substance that facilitates the normal postsynaptic effects of a transmitter

Question 28

What is an antagonist?

Answer 28

substance that blocks or inhibits the normal postsynaptic effects of a transmitter

Question 29

What is an antagonistic effect?

Answer 29

If one drug diminishes the effect of another drug.

Question 30

What is an addictive effect?

Answer 30

If adding a new drug shifts the drug response curve to the left.

Question 31

What is a superaddictive effect or potentiation?

Answer 31

If drugs have an effect together that is greater than might be expected simply by combining their effects.